Category: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – 2025 ARFF AMSTERDAM

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Weaving the Forest

Director’s Name: Alisa Evans

Director of Photography: Ryoya Takashima

Writer’s Name: Akito Sakaino

Producer: Yumi Komori

Country of Origin: Japan

Country of Filming : Japan

Language: Japanese

Runtime: 1 hour 4 minutes 49 seconds

Film Description:

A journey to create clothing—It is a journey of prayer for life.
From soil, water, plants,animals, to people—
Countless lives, spanning past,
present, and future, are woven together to create a single
garment of silk. In Japan’s
satoyama—traditional rural landscapes nurtured by forests
and human hands—this culture has evolved,
deeply rooted in the blessings of nature.
The Japanese belief in Yaoyorozuno Kami-Countless gods and spirits,
the idea that deities reside in all things, reflects a
worldview of reverence and gratitude toward the natural world.
Though these traditions are fading, their spirit endures in the
textile regions across Japan,
where people continue to preserve the culture of weaving
as a living expression of harmony between life and nature.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: GOAT501

Director’s Name: Evrim Çervatoğlu

Director of Photography: Reşat Okan Candemir

Writer’s Name: Evrim Çervatoğlu

Producer: Evrim Çervatoğlu, Kuzey Yücehan Sevgican

Country of Origin: Turkey

Country of Filming : Turkey

Language: Turkish

Runtime: 22 minutes 50 seconds

Film Description:

Goat 501 is a poetic docudrama that follows Cengiz, a solitary shepherd living in the highlands of Turkey’s Eastern Black Sea region. The film begins with the birth of a goat and ends one year later, when that same goat gives birth to its own offspring—quietly completing a timeless cycle.
But this is not only the story of a goat—it is the story of Cengiz himself. As two other men in the film engage with the herd for profit, Cengiz lives outside the boundaries of economy, society, and time. Each of his years repeats like the goats’ cycle, untouched by money or ambition. Over time, Cengiz becomes indistinguishable from his animals—he is the 501st goat.
Shot over three years, Goat 501 invites viewers to experience the rhythm of nature, where silence, simplicity, and deep connection replace narrative convention.

(Winner)

Original Film Title: Funcut

Director’s Name: Mario Gaćina

Director of Photography: Edib Ahmetašević

Writer’s Name: Mario Gaćina

Producer: Mario Gaćina, Karlo Gagulić

Country of Origin: Croatia

Country of Filming : Croatia

Language: Croatian

Runtime: 22 minutes 50 seconds

Film Description:

It’s the late 1980s in a Dalmatian village. Seventeen-year-old Dražen is spending his birthday torn between his father’s expectations and his own desires. His father, Ante, a stubborn olive mill worker, and Josipa’s father, Branko, a local politician, have been engaged in a silent feud for years due to ideological and social differences. In this tense environment, Dražen and Josipa—two young people from opposing worlds—try to preserve their love.

After causing an incident at the family olive mill during a journalist’s visit, Dražen is punished and emotionally isolated. In an attempt to escape, he steals a car and heads to a planned meeting with Josipa, but instead of love, he is met with silence. He returns home prepared for the worst—only to be faced with a surprise that changes everything.

(Jury Award)

Original Film Title: Delirium

Director’s Name: Jake Short

Director of Photography:

Writer’s Name: Christopher Strong

Producer: Bradley Steven Perry, Jake Short, Mika Abdalla, Amanda Ursitti

Country of Origin: United States

Country of Filming : United States

Language: English

Runtime: 12 minutes 48 seconds

Film Description:

Delirium follows Jude Byman, a man tormented by a relentless dream that resumes with every awakening. With each night stolen by fear and every day consumed by exhaustion, Jude’s desperate search for meaning drags him into a terrifying descent into madness.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Francine

Director’s Name: Jordan Johnsen

Director of Photography: Andrew Braunov

Writer’s Name: Jordan Johnsen, Zach Meikle

Producer: Jordan Johnsen, Zach Meikle

Country of Origin: Canada

Country of Filming : Canada

Language: English

Runtime: 13 minutes 45 seconds

Film Description:

Two detectives search the futuristic streets of New Alexandria for a missing synthetic girl named Francine and her human nanny Cassandra.

(Finalist)

Original Film Title: Lineas

Director’s Name: Elise Rodriguez

Director of Photography: Brendaliz Negron

Writer’s Name: Gisella Monclova

Producer: Gisella Monclova, Mayra Verdejo

Country of Origin: Puerto Rico

Country of Filming : Puerto Rico

Language: Spanish

Runtime: 20 minutes

Film Description:

After the loss of her husband, Luisa, a painter struggling with grief, retreats to Puerto Rico in search of inspiration but finds herself unable to create. Days pass in quiet repetition—waking, trying, failing—until a fleeting moment of instinct draws her into the path of Don Eugenio, an elderly man burdened by his own grief. Despite his failing sight and hearing, they build a quiet bond that grows in the rhythm of their weekly encounters.

Meanwhile, in a place she nearly forgot to look, she finds words from her past—words that reach her exactly when she needs them. A gentle reminder. A quiet push forward.

As Luisa rediscovers the beauty in small moments—the laughter of children, the rhythm of the plaza, the act of helping a stranger—she is drawn back to the canvas. But in the end, it is a final gift from Don Eugenio that reveals an unseen thread connecting their lives in ways she never imagined.

(Honorable Mention)

Original Film Title: Contact

Director’s Name: Xana Merkus

Director of Photography: Lennert Roijackers

Writer’s Name: Xana Merkus

Producer: Xana Merkus

Country of Origin: Netherlands

Country of Filming : Netherlands

Language: Dutch

Runtime: 17 minutes 47 seconds

Film Description:

(Audience Award Winner)

Original Film Title: ROXOLANA

Director’s Name: Cherniavskyi Dmytro

Writer’s Name:

Producer:

Country of Origin: Ukraine

Country of Filming : Ukraine

Language: Ukrainian

Runtime: 3 minutes 16 seconds

Film Description: